Understanding Latitude and Longitude See Where in the World Lesson Grid Mapping a Globe: Latitude and Longitude lines are a grid map system too. But instead of being straight lines on a flat surface, Lat/Long lines encircle the Earth, either as horizontal circles or vertical half circles. Latitude Horizontal mapping lines on Earth are lines of latitude. They are known as "parallels" of latitude, because they run parallel to the equator. One simple way to visualize this might be to think about having imaginary horizontal "hula hoops" around the earth, with the biggest hoop around the equator, and then progressively smaller ones stacked above and below it to reach the North and South Poles. (Can you think of other ways to visualize the parallels of Latitude?) (Images: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat) Latitude Think about having imaginary horizontal "hula hoops" around the earth, with the biggest hoop around the equator, and then progressively smaller ones stacked above and below it to reach the North and South Poles Latitude lines are a numerical way to measure how far north or south of the equator a place is located. The equator is the starting point for measuring latitude--that's why it's marked as 0 degrees latitude.

The number of latitude degrees will be larger the further away from the equator the place is located, all the way up to 90 degrees latitude at the poles. Latitude locations are given as __ degrees North or __ degrees South. Longitude Vertical mapping lines on Earth are lines of longitude, known as "meridians". One simple way to visualize this might be to think about having hula hoops cut in half, vertically positioned with one end at the North Pole and the other at the South Pole. Longitude Visualize hula hoops cut in half, vertically positioned with one end at the North Pole and the other at the South Pole. Longitude lines are a numerical way to show/measure how far a location is east or west of a universal vertical line called the Prime Meridian. This Prime Meridian line runs vertically, north and south, right over the British Royal Observatory in Greenwich England, from the North Pole to the South Pole. As the vertical starting point for longitude, the Prime Meridian is numbered 0 degrees longitude.

To measure longitude east or west of the Prime Meridian, there are 180 vertical longitude lines east of the Prime Meridian and 180 vertical longitude lines west of the Prime Meridian, so longitude locations are given as __ degrees east or __ degrees west. The 180 degree line is a single vertical line called the International Date Line, and it is directly opposite of the Prime Meridian. Try the Mystery Class Challenge Mystery Class is a global game of hide-and-seek. Students track seasonal changes in sunlight to find ten secret sites around the world. More... Use Latitutde and Longitude Key Concepts Mapmakers use a system of imaginary lines to form a grid on maps and globes. The numbers in a global address stand for the lines of latitude and the lines of longitude. The lines that run east and west are the lines of latitude . They are also called parallels because they are always the same distance from each other. Lines of Latitude are measured in degrees north and south of the equator. The Equator is a line of latitude and is labeled "0�" (0 degrees) latitude. Parallels north of the Equator are labeled N and are in the Northern Hemisphere.

Parallels south of the Equator are labeled S and are in the Southern Hemisphere. The lines that run north and south on a map or globe are the lines of longitude or meridians. Each meridian runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. Meridians meet at the poles, and are farthest apart at the equator. The meridian marked "0" is called the Prime Meridian. It runs north and south through Greenwich, England, a town near London. Lines of longitude to the west of the Prime Meridian are labeled W and are in the Western Hemisphere. Lines of longitude to the east of the prime meridian are labeled E and are in the Eastern Hemisphere. One degree of latitude is equal to a distance of approximately 69 miles. At the equator, one degree of longitude also equals about 69 miles. However, along the 30th parallel, 1 degree of longitude equals about 60 miles. And along the 50th parallel, 1 degree of longitude equals about 45 miles.

Use Latitude and Longitude BBC - KS3 Bitesize Geography - Geographical skills : Revision, Page 6 Next Latitude and longitude Lines of latitude [latitude: Imaginary lines around the Earth running parallel to the equator. These are measured in degrees north or south of the equator.] and longitude [longitude: Imaginary lines around the Earth running from the north to the south pole. These are measured in degrees east or west of the Greenwich or Prime Meridian.] are used to locate places accurately on the Earth's surface. Latitude Lines of latitude circle the Earth in an east-west direction. They are parallel. They are different lengths, eg: the equator is 40,075 km long the Antarctic circle is 17,662 km long the South Pole is 0 km long Important lines of latitude: the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° north) the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° south) the Arctic circle (66.5° north) the Antarctic circle (66.5° south) the North Pole (90° north) the South Pole (90° south) Longitude Lines of longitude run from the top of the Earth to the bottom.

They are not parallel as lines of latitude are – they meet at a point at the north and south poles and are called meridians. They divide the Earth into segments, like an orange. Some important details about these lines include: The line which runs through Greenwich in London is called the Greenwich Meridian or Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian is 0° longitude. The Earth is then divided into 180° east and 180° west. The International Date Line lies at 180° east/west. The index of an atlas gives shows where places can be found, eg Birmingham, UK - 52° north 1° west. This means that Birmingham is located at approximately latitude 52 north and longitude 1 west. Page Longitude and Latitude - an introduction - mrdowling.com Longitude and Latitude The Caribbean Longitude and Latitude The grid of intersecting lines on a globe enables us to identify every location on earth with a set of numbers or letters The ancient Babylonians divided any circle or sphere into 360 degrees. The symbol for degree is °. Ptolemy was a Greek thinker who borrowed the Babylonians’ ideas as he wrote one of the first books on geography.

Ptolemy wrote that the furthest point at the right or left side of a circle or a sphere is 90 degrees from the top. There are 180 degrees between any two sides of a circle or sphere. This means that the north and south poles are 180 degrees apart from one another, and both poles are 90 degrees from the equator. Geographers use Ptolemy’s calculations to create Lines of Latitude and Lines of Longitude. advertisement Lines of Latitude are imaginary lines that circle the globe from east to west. Lines of Latitude are called parallels because the lines parallel, or run in the same direction as the equator. The equator is the imaginary line that is as far away from the North Pole as it is from the South Pole. Lines of Longitude intersect the equator at right angles but end at the North and the South Poles. Lines of Longitude are also called meridians. Meridian comes from a Latin word that means midday. The sun crosses each meridian in the middle point between sunrise and sunset.

In 1884, the International Meridian Conference chose to make the line at 0° longitude run through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, though they could have chosen any spot on earth. They called the line at 0° longitude the prime meridian. Meridians are counted east and west from the prime meridian. St. Louis, Missouri is 90° west of the prime meridian, so it is one-fourth of the way around the earth from the prime meridian. The International Date Line is 180°--as fa r away as possible--from the prime meridian. When it is noon along the prime meridian, it is midnight along the International Date Line. Geographers also divide the earth into hemispheres. Hemi- is a prefix that means half. Everything north of the equator is in the Northern Hemisphere while everything south of the equator is in the Southern Hemisphere. The Western Hemisphere is west of the prime meridian and the Eastern Hemisphere is east of the prime meridian. The hemispheres both end at the International Date Line. The United States is in the Northern and Western Hemispheres. The White House in Washington, D.C.

is 80 degrees west of the prime meridian and 26 degrees north of the equator, or 39°N,77°W. advertisement Absolute and Relative Locations If someone were to ask for the location of the Empire State Building, you might answer that it is at 350 5th Ave, New York, New York in the 10118 zip code. It probably wouldn’t be very helpful, but you could also truthfully answer that the president lives precisely at 40°45'04.35"N, 73°59'10.17"W. These are examples of absolute locations. It is often more helpful to describe your relative location. For example, the Empire State Building is 25 blocks south of Central Park. We could also say that the Empire State Building is across the street from McDonalds. (It really is!) Both absolute and relative location are useful tools for geographers, and we will use both throughout our study. Resources: Download this lesson as Microsoft Word file or as an Adobe Acrobat file.

Download a lesson plan that includes the Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (2011) as a Microsoft Word file or as an Adobe Acrobat file. Listen to Mr. Dowling read this lesson. (mp3) Watch Mr. Dowling's Powerpoint presentation on Longitude and Latitude. National Geographic article on the historical context of the prime meridian. Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on Geography . Lexile® Measure 1000L The ancient Babylonians divided any circle or sphere into 360 degrees. Lines of Latitude circle the globe from east to west. The line at 0° latitude is called the equator. Lines of Latitude circle the globe from east to west. The line at 0° latitude is called the equator. Lines of Latitude are called parallels because the lines parallel, or run in the same direction as the equator. Lines of Longitude intersect the equator at right angles but end at the North and the South Poles. The lines that run between the North and the South Poles are called Lines of Longitude, or meridians. The line at zero degrees longitude is called the prime meridian.

The equator is the imaginary line that separates the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere. If you are facing the prime meridian, the Western Hemisphere is on the left and the Eastern Hemisphere is on the right. If you are facing the International Date Line, the positions are reversed. The Eastern Hemisphere is on the left and the Western Hemisphere is on the right. The Prime Meridian and the International Date Line are 180 degrees apart from one another advertisement Latitude and Longitude - Geolounge Latitude and Longitude 29 Total Shares If you take a look at a map or globe of the world, you may notice lines running east-west and north-south. The lines run east-west are known as lines of latitude. The lines running north-south are known as lines of longitude. Related: How to Remember the Difference Between Latitude and Longitude ) Ad: Latitude While lines of latitude run across a map east-west, the point of latitude makes the n0rth-south position of a point on earth. Lines of latitude start at 0 degrees at the equator and end a 90 degrees at the North and South Poles. Everything north of the equator is known as the Northern Hemisphere and everything south of the equator is known as the Southern Hemisphere.

Lines of latitude are called parallels and in total there are 180 degrees of latitude. The distance between each degree of latitude is about 69 miles (110 kilometers). The five major parallels of latitudes from north to south are called: Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, and the Antarctic Circle. On a maps where the orientation of the map is either due north or due south, latitude appears as horizontal lines. Longitude Longitude lines run north-south and mark the position east-west of a point. Lines of longitude are known as meridians. These lines run from pole to pole, crossing the equator at right angles. There are 360 degrees of latitude and the latitude line of 0 degrees is known as the Prime Meridian and it divides the world into the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere (-180 degrees degrees of longitude west and 180 degrees of longitude east). The distance between longitudes narrows the further away from the equator. The distance between longitudes at the equator is the same as latitude, roughly 69 miles. At 45 degrees north or south, the distance between is about 49 miles (79 km).

The distance between longitudes reaches zero at the poles as the lines of meridian converge at that point. Displaying Geographic Locations as Coordinates To provide a geographic location using latitude and longitude, a pair of numbers known as coordinates are used. Coordinates are composed of degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS). When providing coordinates, Latitude is always written first. To provide the location of the United States Capitol building using latitude and longitude would be: 38° 53′ 35″ N, 77° 00′ 32″ W. Decimal Degrees, which converts the minutes and seconds portion of the coordinates, is another way to write coordinates. In stead of noting the cardinal directions (N,S,W, or W) in decimal degrees, points that are west of the Prime Meridian and south of equator are preceded by a negative sign. Therefore, the United States Capitol’s coordinates in decimal degrees are 38.889722°, -77.008889°. Many mapping programs such as Google Maps use DD . Equator The equator divides the earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere is marks the location of 0 degrees latitude.

The equator marks the locations on earth that are equidistance from the North and South Poles. The equator crosses 78.7% water and 21.3% land and is about 24,901 miles (40,075 km) long. Map of the equator (red line), Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer marks the location where the sun reaches the zenith at this latitude. The exact latitude is not a fixed point and the latest measurement for 2014 is 23° 26′ 14.675″ (23° 26′ 16″) . The summer solstice, which occurs on either June 20 or 21 of each year, marks the day on which the sun shines vertically over this parallel. Map with the red line marking the Tropic of Cancer. Tropic of Capricorn Moving every year, the Tropic of Capricorn is the parallel line of latitude that is currently located at 23° 26′ 14.440″.

The winter solstice, which occurs on either December 21 or 22 of each year, marks the day on which the sun shines vertically over this line. On this map, the Tropic of Capricorn is marked with a red line. Arctic and Antarctic Circles The Arctic and Antarctic Circles are the parallels of latitude that are roughly 66.5 degrees (66° 33′ 44″ (or 66.5622°). The region above the Arctic Circle, which includes the North Pole, is known as the Arctic. The region south of the Antarctic Circle, which includes the South Pole, is known as the Antarctic. Map of the world with red lines showing the location of the Arctic and Antarctic circles. Prime Meridian The line of longitude where the degree is zero is known as the Prime Meridian. Passing through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich , England, it is also known as the Greenwich Meridian and divides the earth into two equal halves known as the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. International Date Line The line on earth where one calendar day becomes the next is known as the International Date Line (IDL).

The line is generally found 180 degrees from the Prime Meridian but the line circumvents some regions and islands to avoid dividing contiguous pieces of regions and countries into two separate days. There are 23 one-nour slices an two 30 minutes slices that divide the world up into different time zones. Traveling from east to west over the International Date Line advances the calendar by one day. More: Geography of the International Date Line The black line on this map shows the International Date Line. Fundamentals of Mapping Fundamentals of Mapping Reference The Earth’s Coordinate System (Latitude and Longitude) The first step in converting the information contained in the real–world onto a ‘piece of paper’ was to devise a system where everything could be uniquely located in the world. Very early maps (which usually showed small local or regional areas) used a grid technique which relied on simply measuring the distance and direction between points of interest and then plotting these onto the ‘piece of paper’. This method assumed that the Earth was flat. With the general agreement that the Earth was, in fact, round, a different methodology needed to be developed. The system that has been developed over many centuries is called latitude and longitude.

The location and measurement of latitude and longitude essentially involves complex mathematics (especially geometry) and a series of international agreements ⁄ conventions for recording locations on the surface of the Earth. Contents » Further Reading Latitude The first convention to be developed was latitude. This is based on long term astronomical observations about how the sun is perceived to move across the surface of the Earth. These observations also developed the conventions that the sun: rises in the east and sets in the west is in the south during a European winter and in the north in a European summer. It was agreed that a line around the centre of the Earth would be called the Equator. This would be numbered as zero degrees (0°) of latitude. From the Equator a series of parallel lines were recognised with the most northern and southern points being called the North Pole and South Pole. These would be numbered as 90 degrees North and South respectively (90°N and 90°S). Four significant lines of latitude were also agreed upon.

These are: 0° - The Equator 23.5°N and S - The Tropics (called Cancer in the north and Capricorn in the south) between these two, at some time of the year, the sun is directly overhead beyond each of these the sun is never directly overhead 66.5°N and S - The Polar Circles 90°N and S - The Poles beyond the Poles and the Polar Circles 24 hours of daylight (midnight sun) is possible in summer and 24 hours without any daylight is possible in winter. Because lines of latitude are like slices through the Earth they have different lengths. For example: the Equator is 40,075 kilometres long the Antarctic Circle is 17,662 kilometres long the South Pole is 0 kilometres long. For obvious reasons, lines of latitude are called parallels. Longitude Defining longitude was much more difficult, as it is could not be based on observations of movement of the sun. It was, in part, influenced by the discovery of Magnetic North, but ultimately longitude is mostly based on abstract mathematical / geometric concepts.

The convention eventually agreed upon was to have a series of radiating lines which run vertically around the Earth. They connected at both ends – i.e. at the North Pole and the South Pole. As a result of this, a series of ‘slices’ much like slices of an orange are created. These are pointed at their ends and broadest in the middle. It was agreed that a primary line of longitude should be identified and that this should be zero degrees (0°) of longitude. For a considerable period of time the issue of which line of longitude was to be the primary line could not be agreed. For obvious religious reasons, early European maps often used Jerusalem as the primary line of longitude. Because of its status as a centre of learning other early map makers, such as Ptolemy , had used Alexandria in Egypt. More commonly though, for patriotic reasons, many countries chose one of their cities. A few European examples are Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris and Saint Petersburg; while in the United States of America Washington and Philadelphia had been chosen.

Eventually, in October 1884, at the International Meridian Conference, it was agreed that the line of longitude that runs through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in United Kingdom, was to be adopted as the standard primary line of longitude. Radiating to the east and to the west would be 180° of longitude. These would meet at the opposite side of the Earth and form a joint 180° line of longitude (with 180°E and 180°W being the same line). Lines of longitude are called meridians. Add the Two Together Combine latitude and longitude together and we have a system to record the location of any feature on the surface of the Earth uniquely. Explaining Some Jargon – Hemispheres The creation of the concept of latitude and longitude resulted in the creation of the concept of Earth’s hemispheres. These are: Northern Hemisphere  that half of the Earth which is north of the Equator. Southern Hemisphere  that half of the Earth which is south of the Equator. Western Hemisphere  that half of the Earth which is west of the 0° line of longitude (Greenwich Meridian).

Eastern Hemisphere  that half of the Earth which is east of the 0° line of longitude (Greenwich Meridian). Note with this definition continental Europe is in the Eastern Hemisphere. Explaining Some Jargon – North Pole There are two North Poles: The first is the Geographic (or True) North Pole: It is the point on the Earth which is calculated as the northerly point which is furthest away from the Equator It defined as 90°N It is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean The second is the Magnetic North Pole It is the point that a magnetic compass points to. It is presently located in Canadian Territorial waters, west of Greenland. It is slowly moving in a north-westerly direction across the Arctic Ocean. It is estimated that it is moving at a speed of about 40 kilometres per year and over the last century the Magnetic Pole has moved a remarkable 1100 kilometres. This magnetic attraction and movement is a result of the magnetic forces within the Earth. The Geological Survey of Canada has an excellent explanation on how the Earth's magnetic field works and information about the North Magnetic Pole: Finally, there are also two South Poles – Geographic and Magnetic.

The Magnetic South Pole is magnetic, but this is very weak and hard to identify even if you are near it, as a result magnetic compasses rarely point to the South Magnetic Pole. Read more about the South Poles on the Australian Antarctic Division's website Explaining Some Jargon – Great Circles Any circular line which runs around the Earth at its fattest point is called a Great Circle. This circle has to be centred over the centre of the Earth. Note the following: All Lines of Longitude ‘run through both Poles’ and each is therefore half of a Great Circle For Lines of Latitude only the Equator is a Great Circle Other Great Circles can be positioned at any angle over the Earth – the only limit on how it can be placed is that they must have the centre of the Earth as their centre Why the fuss about Great Circles? The answer is that for any two points on the surface of the Earth, the shortest distance between those points is always along a Great Circle. When you look at a map a Great Circle is usually not a straight line. This is because of distortions that are created when the surface of the Earth is projected onto a ‘flat piece of paper’.

Explaining Some Jargon – Time Zones Until the 1890’s time keeping was a local affair. Most people regulated their day by the movement of the Sun – sunrise, noon/midday and sunset. Only the rich could afford clocks and in many places the town hall clocks or the church bells were the only source of official/consistent time. In the late-1800’s with the development of long distance railways a problem emerged – they needed to run to a schedule and inconsistent times caused significant problems. In 1878, Canadian Sir Sanford Fleming, proposed a system of worldwide time zones based on lines of longitude. Using zones of longitude which were 15° wide he was able to divide the Earth into 24 time zones (one for each hour of the day). The 0° line of longitude (Greenwich Meridian) was chosen as the start point of the system and the 180° line of longitude was the end point. To the east time progressively became later in a day and to the west time progressively became earlier in a day. This resulted in the creation of an interesting phenomenon at the 180° line of longitude – the International Date Line.

By the mid-1900’s this had become an agreed international system, although some countries, in order to minimise time variations, have opted to choose a particular time for their whole country – regardless of where the longitudinal lines run. Things to note on this map include: How time zones in individual countries match their International or State Borders – eg: China, which crosses five time zones, has chosen to use only one time Australia and United States of America cross several time zones and they have chosen to use these times – but these are matched to State/Territory borders France and Spain, which are in the same time zone as the United Kingdom, have opted to use the neighbouring time zone – the same as the other countries in continental Europe The International Date Line does not totally follow the 180° line of longitude – rather it zigs and zags around the borders of various countries. Further Reading Lattitude and Longitude Defined Your shopping cart Latitude Lines of latitude measure north-south position between the poles. The equator is defined as 0 degrees, the North Pole is 90 degrees north, and the South Pole is 90 degrees south. Lines of latitude are all parallel to each other, thus they are often referred to as parallels.

The memory rhyme I use to help remember that lines of latitude denote north-south distance is: "Tropical latitudes improve my attitude" One degree of latitude is 60 nautical miles, 69 statute miles or 111 km. One minute of latitude is 1 nautical mile, 1.15 statute miles, or 1.85 km. Longitude Lines of longitude, or meridians, run between the North and South Poles. They measure east-west position. The prime meridian is assigned the value of 0 degrees, and runs through Greenwich, England. Meridians to the west of the prime meridian are measured in degrees west and likewise those to the east of the prime meridian are measured to by their number of degrees east. The memory rhyme I use to help remember that lines of longitude denote east-west distance is: "Lines of LONGitude are all just as LONG as one another." With this saying in my mind, I picture all of the longitudinal meridians meeting at the poles, each meridian the same length as the next.

Equator Map, Tropic of Cancer Map, Tropic of Capricorn Map, Prime Meridian Circles of Latitude & Longitude - The Equator, The Prime Meridian, The Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn Circles of Latitude & Longitude - The Equator, The Prime Meridian, The Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn On the map shown, and for that matter on all other maps, the Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, Equator, Prime Meridian, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn are imaginary lines. Latitudes and Longitudes are angular measurements that give a location on the earth’s surface a unique geographical identification. Latitudes are the progressive angular measurements north or south of the equator are the imaginary lines running from east to west on the Earth’s surface. While Longitudes are the measurements east or west of the Prime Meridian and run from the north pole to the south pole. Latitudes are parallel while Longitudes are convergent. This positioning method comprises of a coordinate system in degrees (°) with the Equator and Prime Meridian being the lines that denote 0°.

With the Equator as the reference point, the North Pole lies at 90°N and the South Pole lies at 90°S. Likewise, the furthest point eastwards from the Prime Meridian is expressed as 180°E and the furthest point westward is expressed as 180°W. Circles of Latitude are imaginary east to west circles that connect all places with the same latitude. The reference plane for all Circles of Latitude is the Equatorial Circle of Latitude that bisects the Earth. All Circles of Latitude are parallel to the Equator and perpendicular to all Longitudes at the intersection points. Parallels get smaller towards the poles than closer to the Equatorial Plane. Unlike latitudes that have the Equator as the central Latitude, the Prime Meridian has been set as the reference point of meridians over the course of history. Circles of Latitude are called parallels while half of a longitudinal circle is called a Meridian. Meridians are important for setting time zones. There are five main parallels that are useful to explain the correlation between the Earth, the Sun, and climate. As such, these five main parallels also mark the five geographical zones.

These are: • Arctic Circle : Is the boundary of the North Frigid Zone to the north. • Tropic of Cancer : Encloses the North Temperate Zone with the Arctic Circle. • The Equator : Divides the earth in North and Southern Hemispheres . The are around the Equator is referred to as the Tropics and is limited northward by the Tropic of Cancer and southward by the Tropic of Capricorn. • Tropic of Capricorn : Encloses the South Temperate Zone with the Antarctic Circle. • Antarctic Circle : Is the boundary of the South Frigid Zone to the south. Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle parallel that is currently positioned at 66° 33’ 46” in the Northern Hemisphere ( or 66.5628°). The position of the Arctic Circle fluctuates by about 49 ft each year due to the Earth’s axial tilt that is determined by tidal forces resulting from the pull of the moon on the Earth’s waters. The fluctuation of the Arctic Circle has been found to be at a rate of 2° every 40,000 years.

The region north of the Arctic Circle called the North Frigid Zone is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and ice. During the winter, the region experiences 24 hours of darkness in a day and 24 hours of sunlight in a day during the summers. Antarctic Circle This parallel of latitude is currently at 66° 33′ 46″ south of the Equator (or -66.5628°). Like the Arctic, the position of the Antarctic Circles is not fixed, as their exact location depends on the Earth's axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of 2° over a 40,000 year period, mainly due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. The Tropics of Cancer Tropic of Cancer is a Circle of Latitude currently positioned at 23°26’14” north of the Equator (or 23.4372°). Another reference for the Tropic of Cancer is the Northern Tropic. The Northern Tropic is the parallel at which the Summer (or Nothern or June) Solstice occurs when once a year the sun appears directly overhead the most northerly parallel.

This event happens in the month of June. The Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Capricorn is another Circle of Latitude currently positioned at 23°26’14” south of the Equator (or -23.4372°). The Southern Tropic is another reference for the Tropic of Capricorn. The Tropic of Capricorn is the parallel at which the Winter (or Southern or December) Solstice occurs when once a year the sun appears directly overhead the most southerly parallel. This event happens in the month of December. These two parallels enclose the area of the Earth known as The Tropics characterized by warm to hot weather and lush vegetation. Similar to the Arctic Circle, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn also fluctuate depending on the Earth’s axial tilt. The Equator The Equator is the parallel line located at 0°00’00”. It is identified as the latitude that falls at the point that is equidistant from the North Pole and the South Pole. The Equator’s covers a distance on the Earth’s surface approximately 24,901 miles long.

The sun is perpendicular to the Equator twice a year in March and September. This event is called the Equinox. Areas on the Earth’s surface that fall on the Equator’s path are characterized by almost constant lengths of day and night. Likewise, the Equator fluctuates and is identified as the plane that is perpendicular to the Earth’s rotational axis. Prime Meridian The Prime Meridian is the meridian defined as 0°00’00” longitude. It is the longitudinal meridian of reference. Unlike the Equator’s position that is determined by the Earth’s rotational axis, the position of the Prime Meridian has been defined arbitrarily over the years as Greenwich in the United Kingdom. The Prime Meridian divides the earth into two hemispheres , the Western Hemisphere to the west and the Eastern Hemisphere to the east. What are the major lines of longitude and latitude? What purpose do they serve? - Quora Quora You were redirected because this question was merged with Geographic Coordinate System: What are latitude and longitude? Answer Wiki Updated Aug 17 Lines of longitude and parallels of latitude produce a grid pattern around the Earth allowing us a common language with which to locate any given point on the Earth’s surface.

This universally accepted method gives us a common language useful for many purposes. They are all imaginary lines and were contrived for the purpose of communication between people, just as our day is now divided into 24 imaginary equal hours, and a second is an arbitrary number describing a specific length of time. Without the Geographic coordinate system , we would need to resort to Dead reckoning to navigate the Earth from place to place. (ie - drive north 10 miles, then drive east 6 miles; or fly NNE for 10 miles to find me). (see also Points of the compass , or As the crow flies ) The moon is similarly delineated, to locate positions on the lunar surface. (See Selenographic coordinates ) sel·e·nog·ra·phy ˌseləˈnäɡrəfē/ noun noun: selenography the scientific mapping of the moon; lunar geography. Google Ngram Viewer - selenography - not such a common word nowadays, as it once was, many moons ago.

(see also many moons ago Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary - just another of Wade’s Weird Words) - actually, it’s never been all that common, even at its peak usage in 1882. It was a new word for me, just recently. Christopher Columbus used dead reckoning to navigate the globe, so we know that it works, to a degree. What are Longitudes and Latitudes on timeanddate.com For someone at either pole, the sun never rises more than 23.44° above the horizon. The sun can never pass directly overhead at noon anywhere north or south of the Tropics. Anywhere between the Tropics, there are two days each year when a tall building will cast no shadow at noon (unless that tower is built at a crooked angle - see also Leaning Tower of Pisa ). The sun can never be quite overhead for anyone north or south of the Tropics and tall buildings cast shadows even at noon every day of the year. Those shadows are longer in the winter than in the summer.

The sun will pass directly overhead at noon for someone at the Tropic of Cancer on June 20 (or June 21) each year, and for someone at the Tropic of Capricorn the sun will pass directly overhead at noon on December 22 (or December 23). At the equator, the sun passes directly overhead at noon on March 20 (or March 21) and again on September 22 (or September 23). On a leap year, everything falls back a day on the calendar. (see Equinox and Solstice ) side note: The spring equinox has not occurred on March 21 for nearly 30 years, but we all think that is the first day of spring (or fall in the southern hemisphere). Not a big issue, as it’s only a day and it’s hard to notice if you aren’t measuring it exactly. 3. Astronomical calendar Many believe the ancients celebrated winter solstice at Stonehenge. The avenue near Stonehenge is aligned with the winter solstice sunset, and nearby archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were slaughtered during December and January — possibly for a mid-winter feast.

(see also Stonehenge: Facts & Theories About Mysterious Monument - on Live Science) Sorry ’bout that - it’s hard to stay on topic when everything ties together so well in history and in science and in linguistics and measurement and geography and dinosaurs ..… These imaginary lines are the direct result of the tilt of the Earth’s axis from perpendicular to the ecliptic. The tilt of the Earth’s axis is what gives us our seasons. The location of the Tropics changes each year as the tilt of the Earth’s axis changes. The tilt changes from 22.1° to 24.5° and back again - over a period of roughly 41,000 years. (see also Milankovitch cycles on Wiki) You may have noticed that 90 - 23.44 = 66.56 and these are the latitudes of the Tropics and of the Arctic and Antarctic circles. Of all crossings of the Tropic of Cancer with Mexican federal highways, this is the only place where the line is marked with precision and history of the annual movement since 2005.

Carretera 83 (Vía Corta) Zaragoza-Victoria, km 27+800. Of all crossings of the Tropic of Cancer with Mexican federal highways, this is the only place where the latitude is marked with precision and where the annual drift between the years 2005 and 2010 can be appreciated. Source: Tropic of Cancer on Wiki Not really lines of longitude, but equally imaginary and arbitrary, the world is also split into time zones. There are 24 major time zones, and they don’t always follow exact lines of longitude. They are all more or less 15° wide, since the Earth spins just that fast on its axis each hour, but they often follow political boundaries instead, so that people within arbitrary geographical areas all set their clocks to the same time. When it’s noon in one place on Earth, it’s 4:00 PM in another, and it’s morning somewhere else - all at the same time. Edit: actually there are 25 time zones.

Those at UTC+12 and UTC-12 are only 7.5° wide each, and there is a UTC+0 (we just say UTC) time zone centered on the prime meridian … and there are time zones at UTC+13 and UTC+14 as well, so I suppose it would be more accurate to say that there are actually 27 time zones. (see also: The Line Islands UTC+14:00 ) Some time zones have more than one name, describing the same offset from UTC in different countries. And there are some time zones offset by 1/2 an hour, or even 1/4 hour … the list is a long one. China uses one time zone across its girth, where it should have five. By all rights, Russia should have 12 (they only use 10 and they stay on daylight time year-round), but its an arbitrary thing, often manipulated to keep hours of business more in line between trading partners or across larger market areas. It’s a patch-work quilt around the globe. The prime meridian runs through Greenwich, England (see Royal Borough of Greenwich ) and passes through every other country north and south of that point on Earth.

On the opposite side of the world is the International Date Line - another imaginary line that, together with the prime meridian, splits the Earth roughly down the middle from north to south. Every line of longitude, together with it’s twin on the opposite side of the Earth, traces a Great circle around the Earth’s perimeter from north to south. The equator is the only line of latitude that traces a great circle around the Earth. See also: History of the Prime Meridian Zero Degree Longitude Line - Prime Meridian - History and Overview of the Prime Meridian on About Education Originally, a Nautical mile was defined as the distance between two parallel lines of latitude separated by only 1 arcsecond at 48 degrees north latitude. (see Minute and second of arc on Wiki) An arcsecond is 1/60 of an arcminute, and an arcminute is 1/60 of a degree. There are 360 degrees in a circle, and the Earth is circular. Consequently, the lines of longitude are numbered from 0 to 180 degrees east and from 0 to 180 degrees west of the prime meridian.

Sometimes we measure only in one direction all the way around from 0° to 360°, but that is less common. The lines of latitude are similarly numbered from 0 to 90 degrees. Zero at the equator and 90 at the poles. see also: Cool Cosmos - from Caltech In 24 hours, the Earth spins on it’s axis just a little less than 361 degrees, to “catch up to the sun” since the Earth moves about 1 degree around its orbit of the sun every day. It’s no coincidence that there are 365 days in a year. It’s no coincidence that our calendar has 365 days. We designed these things to match what we see happening in our environment. Written May 23, 2016 There is really only one, the Prime Meridian, which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole (like all lines on longitude,) through Greenwich, England. Universal time is measured from this line, earlier as you go east, later as you go west.

The only other line that is comparable is 180 degrees, the opposite side of the Earth, but the function of that longitude is done by the International Date Line, which does not entirely follow the 180 degree line. The other lines of longitude are of no notability, apart from their role in measuring distances and navigation. Lines of latitude of note would be the North Pole, South Pole, the Equator (halfway between the previous two,) and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, 23 1/2 degrees north and south, which are the latitudes which are the north and south limits of the sun being directly overhead at noon, an effect of the 23 1/2 degree tilt of the Earth’s axis. 350 Views

Question: On a map, are the lines that run parallel to the equator called lines of longitude or lines of latitude?
Answer: Latitude